A Chance to Say Goodbye
by ChibiJaime
Summary: ...POST MOVIE... After everything is said and done, 9 does not know how to comfort the grieving 7, but a strange dream he experiences during a rest cycle may give him the insight he needs... Shortfic, angst, making up, 5x7, complete.
1. Chapter 1

It was called rain. Life-giving. In their short lifetimes, none of them had ever seen it. 3 and 4 were giddily playing in it, 3 holding her hands up to catch drops on her palms as 4 skittered around his sister, jumping into puddles and splashing his counterpart. As for 9 and 7, then were sitting quietly a sheet of metal that must've fallen from a roof, propped up against a few cement blocks and an old tire. 9 was smiling a little, admiring the strange flecks of green that seemed to fill the water, but 7 seemed distant, staring at the shield she held in her small hands.

"...you got pretty quiet all of a sudden," 9 commented, giving her a sideways glance. "You've been staring at your shield for a while now. Something on your mind?"

The question seemed to draw 7 out of her reverie, and she jerked her head toward 9, lenses clicking before she offered him a wan smile. "...a little bit. Yeah." There was a soft scraping noise as her metal fingertips trailed the old copper wiring that held the washer to the tube. "I'm still trying to figure out if I'm... coherent enough to talk about it."

9 blinked, shifting a little. He almost scooted closer, but when she scooted away at the first sign of that action, he froze. "7, if it's that important..."

"5 made it for me."

That caused 9 to lean back a little, regarding his companion quietly. "...when?"

7 gave a soft sigh. "Back before I left the cathedral." Quietly, she hugged the shield to her chest, her expression desolate. "I was so angry with 1. I should've stayed. Or insisted 5 go with me. Maybe I could've taught him to fight." Was she shaking? Her lenses were snapped tightly shut. "I was so stupid!"

Frowning, 9 reached out to grab her shoulders, turning the smaller stitchpunk to face him. "7, you are not stupid. How could you have known any of this would happen? You can't blame yourself."

But 7 didn't reply. She just shook her head, pushing to her feet as she pulled the shield back on, going to shoo the twins out of the rain before they got too damp. Sighing, 9 leaned back on his hands. Well that had failed miserably. But then, since the ceremony, she'd grown more and more distant and he could not for the life of him figure out why. It could be the reality of all the death they had witnessed was sinking in, but...

His thoughts trailed off and he sighed. No use bothering with it now. The rain was coming down harder and they needed to find shelter. Getting to his feet, he plodded out to help with the herding of the twins.

*****

When night fell, they had managed a suitable rough shelter in what looked to have been someone's house once upon a time, with three small cots they could rest on. 7 was still trying to help 3 and 4 burn off some energy, but 9 felt strangely exhausted. Excusing himself from the presence of his companions, he slunk into the room not far from where they stood and flopped onto his side with a heavy sigh. The day was wearing heavy on him, and to make things worse, he felt he'd completely failed in trying to comfort the grief 7 had continued to sink deeper into.

His lenses clicked shut and he sighed. He would try again tomorrow. Besides, the twins were so full of life and energy that it was impossible to stay sad around them. Wasn't it?

He wasn't sure when he had fallen into a rest cycle, but the whisper of a breeze through the room brought him out of it cold and 9 jerked into a sitting position, blinking in confusion with recharge glazed lenses at the strange, misty green that was swirling around the room. What in the world...?

"You know, you have a heavier rest cycle than I thought. Though I should've remembered that from the first time we met."

That brought 9 around completely and he jerked his head to the side, staring at the ghostly, translucent figure of 5 sitting on the cot across from him, smiling casually. He looked surprisingly calm. It was an expression 9 was unaware 5 could wear, and it looked good on him. "5! But... how...?! I mean... you're...!"

"Dead? Yeah. Figured that'd be the immediate response. Guess I just had some unfinished business." He shrugged, then gave a somewhat weak smile. "I really made myself look stupid, though, didn't I? I'm so sorry, 9. I stood there and stared at that thing when I should've been running. Felt like I couldn't move. Geez, I'm such a coward."

He couldn't help it. A smile drifted onto 9's face and he shook his head. "No. Don't apologize, 5, please. You warned the rest of us. That was very brave."

5 laughed, shaking his head, creating another swirl of that strange green mist. "Yeah. Screaming like someone was tearing out my other lens is very brave."

"No one would blame you. None of us would. I can only imagine I would've done--..."

"You wouldn't have, 9, and you know it. You're braver than anyone I know. Part of me, after I met you and saw how you acted, wanted to be like you. But I couldn't. I just... I was never meant to be a hero. You were." 9 quieted at that, looking away. He wasn't going to fight 5 on this.. "...what?"

9 sighed, lifting his head to look straight on at 5, expression disheartened. "I'm dreaming. Aren't I? You're not really here."

A thoughtful noise drifted from 5 and he sighed. "Could be. Could be you're exhausted and you're imagining things." He leaned forward, giving 9 an earnest look, smiling. "Or it could be that as your friend, I wanted one last chance to say goodbye."

That finally drew 9's attention back around and he smiled. Part of him wished he could actually reach out and touch his friend, but he had a feeling it would not work, leaving him grasping air. And then there was the fear that if he tried, the vision would vanish and he would be left alone in the room again.

"There's something more to it, though," 9 stated plaintively, "isn't there?"

When 5 gave that rueful smile, 9 knew he had hit the nail right on the head. "Caught me." Reaching out, he put his hand on 9's knee, looking him straight in the lenses. "I need to be serious for a minute. 7's shield."

"Yes. She said you made it."

"I did. I told her that even though I couldn't be there, as long as she had it, I could always protect her." 5 paused, looking mournful. "Maybe it helped her to be braver. But she's always been the strongest one of all of us. I want--..." He trailed off. "I can't protect her anymore. That little shield can't save her from her own thoughts. I need you to be that for her now. Please."

Something in 9's head clicked. "You loved 7. Didn't you?"

5's smile was quiet and contemplative and he looked away. "Still do. More than anything." Quietly, he turned his gaze back to his friend. "That's the other reason I needed to talk to you. I want you to take care of her."

Quickly, 9 shook his head. "5, 7 can take care of herself..."

The ghostly 5 frowned, reaching out to grab 9's hand. The other ragdoll was startled with the fact that they could touch, but the icy cold in his dear friend's grip was enough to send a chill up his spine. "Not with this. Please, 9. I can't be there for her. I was never able to be, and I hate that. But I know I can trust you to be there for her now." When 9 started to shake his head, 5 tightened his grip. "Please. Promise me, 9. Promise me you'll do this for me."

After a moment or two, 9 finally just smiled a little, lowering his head before he covered 5's hand with his free one. "I promise, 5. I'll do everything in my power to do this for you. You have my word."

The world came rushing back with sudden clarity in that instant, and 9 sat bolt upright, lenses wide as he stared frantically around the too dark room. 3 and 4 were in a cot nearby, curled together so tightly that it was hard to see where one twin ended and the other one began. He frowned, noting that they were laying where the ghostly image of 5 had been sitting. Had he imagined the whole thing?

Glancing around the room, he noticed that 7 was sitting on the remaining cot, still holding the shield, playing with a loose piece of wire on it, her expression just as distant as it had been before. Quiet, mindful not to wake the sleeping twins, he moved to sit beside her.

"You feeling any better?" he asked, reaching out to cover one of her hands with his. Odd. The appendage still felt cold. He wondered if she noticed. "You were distant earlier."

7's expression tightened. "I'm fine. Just... thinking."

Sighing, 9 glanced down at the shield. "...when 5 gave this to you. Did he tell you that it would protect you when he couldn't be there to do it?"

That was when 7's head jerked up, lenses wide as she stared at him. "How did you know that? Did he tell you when you were at the cathedral with him? I never told anyone...!"

9's free hand came up to cover her mouth as he nodded softly toward the twins. When she didn't make a sound, he lowered his hand and sighed. "I had a dream. At least... I think it was a dream. I'm not so sure. I saw 5. He wanted to apologize... to say goodbye. He told me about the shield, and why he made it for you." Both of his hands covered hers now. "He misses you."

If 9 hadn't known better, he would have thought 7 looked as if she may start crying. She stared at him, something in the way she gazed reading nothing but grief and regret. "I told him once, when his eye got... got ripped off that I would always have his back. That he would never be alone. I would always protect him." She choked. "I lied to him, 9. In the end, when he needed me to protect him the most... I couldn't save him!"

He wasn't sure what he could do. But 5's desperate pleading urged him onward and he reached out, pulling 7 to him in an embrace that would have been easy for her to break out of if she'd wanted. She did not move. "He doesn't blame you. Trust me. If anything, he was worried you'd be angry at him for his not being able to protect you like he wanted to. He cared about you more than anything, 7. Please don't forget that."

He tensed, but 7 still didn't move, instead resting against 9 as if she had lost all strength to hold herself up. "I'm always the strong one," she mumbled. "Do you mind taking that role for me for a few days? Everyone's always expected me to be the one to carry the weight of the world, but I just can't do that right now."

"I'll do everything in my power, 7," 9 responded softly, lenses half closed as he glanced down at her. "You have my word. I'll always have your back."


	2. Chapter 2

The next several days became less and less about exploration for the four remaining stitchpunks, and ever more about survival. The emptiness was still full of rogue beasts that had not shut down when the Fabrication Machine had been destroyed. Those abominations still roaming were now mindlessly following the tasks they had been built to accomplish. Some hunted to kill, others just to capture, and some... well, 9 was sure there were some they had not found yet with even more dire purposes to them.

He kept the talisman with him at all times now, tucked neatly away inside his small burlap frame, though he did not mention it to 7 or the twins. Something in him told him it was still important, and so he kept it near, though he could not for the life of him figure out why.

7 had finally seemed to come out of her funk, though 9 knew full well that the shock of losing most of those she knew would never leave her. She'd allowed his company if only for a shoulder to lean on, and oft times at night, she would slip into his cot to curl up beside him, just for the presence of the comforting warmth he provided. It may not have been what he had hoped for when he had first seen her, but it was enough. Besides, she needed someone to lift her spirits more than someone like that right now. She still missed 5... and he was positive she had reciprocated their friend's affections, even if she'd never said it.

The dream was what still haunted 9, however. How had 5 communicated with him? He was sure that he had seen him dissipate with the others. Unless, of course, they hadn't truly dissipated. They were free, of course, but that did not mean they could not return to pay their final respects to the living. It would have made so much more sense for 5 to go to 7, right? Why him?

More and more, he kept engrossed in his thoughts. When it was his turn to go with the twins on their forays into the emptiness, they would often have to skitter back and poke and prod at him to make sure he kept moving, clicking their lenses at him rapid-fire as they tried to determine why he was so distant. 7 had noticed it too, and had even asked him, but 9 brushed it off

Why was it even troubling him so? Why was he so focused on this? It wasn't like they had much else to worry about. They just needed to take care of whatever roaming beasts appeared and move on. Right?

Perhaps if he had been thinking clearly, he may have noticed the ground beneath his feet begin to rumble. He may have seen the twins scatter, looking for higher ground. It wasn't until the tremble became a full out shake that he really paid attention, and by then, the thing was almost on top of him.

It burst free of the ground with a terrible rattle and shriek, tossing its spade-shaped metallic head, antennae whipping with its erratic writhing. Two shovel heads made up its front, and bits of sharp metal lined its maw. The rest of the twisting, writhing mass that he could see appeared to be a human spine and two drills which whirred and spun at the ends of sturdy steel rods.

This was not 9's day.

Instinctively he made to run, which caused the creature to jerk its massive head toward him. He was aware rather quickly that it could not see him, but that did not seem to matter, as it had heard his panicked movement. Giving a shriek that rattled his small metal skeleton, it struck out quick as a snake, snout burrowing in the dirt beside him. Missed! So it wasn't terribly accurate. Then outrunning or escaping it wouldn't be as tricky as he had initially thought.

He darted to one side as quick as he could as the beast jerked its head free, shrieking again as it flipped over to rest on its back in the dirt. Now its antennae were resting on the ground, and it began moving with great purpose and direction after 9. The next strike may have missed, but it did manage to hit the doll with one of its metal arms, sending him sprawling into the dirt. He was dazed for a moment, blinking a few times as he tried to clear the fuzz from his vision, and barely managed to roll to one side in enough time to avoid being impaled on a drill. Another quick roll to the other side prevented that. All the while it kept its head and antennae to the ground.

Finally he managed to kick to his feet again, scrambling as the clang and grind just missed his back when the digger snapped to attempt to catch him in its razor-filled maw.

Again, he took to running. He had no weapons and the talisman had no power left... especially not against something animated of pure malice. The twins were nowhere to be seen, so that was good. They must have gotten to safety, and he preferred that they did over himself. Or perhaps they had gone to find 7? She was a warrior. She may have known how to handle this thing.

Another duck and dodge as the thing burrowed one drill deep into the ground to his side, jerking it back up with enough force to rip up chunks of earth and send him flying. He tumbled hard when he landed, crying out when he felt the joint of his shoulder twist in a way he knew it was not meant to go. Groaning, he rolled onto his side, unable to push himself up the rest of the way.

It couldn't end like this! Not with so much at stake!

He closed his eyes for another strike when he heard a war cry sounding from above, and the sharp clang of 7's spear meeting the top of the beast's head. She was shouting at him to run, but injured as he was, he just couldn't push to his feet. He had just managed to at least clamor to his knees when the tail of the thing smacked him hard In the front, sending him sailing back into the door of an old car nearby, and his world went black.

*****

It felt like he had been floating forever when a soft breeze caused 9 to jerk awake, and for a moment, he could only stare blearily at the ceiling above him. He was back in their makeshift shelter, laying in his own cot, staring at the ceiling. The whole fight against the digger had been a dream?

No. No, it hadn't been. As his optics focused, he became keenly aware of a green glow filling the room. Another dream? 5? He sat up slowly, hand against his head and shielding his lenses. When his hand lowered, he realized quite quickly that it was not 5 he was being visited by.

The walls were covered in odd drawings in ghostly green, scratchy circles surrounded by arrows pointing clockwise. Each circle was split into three parts, and no two paintings were exactly alike. Not only that, but they covered not only the walls. The floor was filled as well, and in the middle of it all, a trembling apparition of 6, still frantically drawing. The last time 9 had seen him, he seemed to be at peace with his fate... but now he was visibly troubled.

"6..." he murmured softly, reaching out for the artistic soothsayer.

6's head jerked up at the sound of his name, and he stared with wide, mismatched lenses at 9 as if he'd never looked at him before. A moment or two passed and he immediately started to smile, reaching up and grasping at 9's arm with a frigid vice grip. "You can see me. You can see me!"

Smiling, 9 covered 6's hand with his own, trying to comfort him, or at least to still his terror. "Hey. It's okay. I can see you just fine. What is all this, 6?"

Shifting nervously, the striped ghost glanced around, one shaking hand moving from 9's arms to point at the images he'd drawn. "You didn't understand," he insisted. "It's wrong. All wrong. I thought it was right before but I know now. I know the truth. You have to go back, 9. You have to go back! You have to understand!"

That made 9 frown and he reached to grab 6's frantically gesturing hand. "6, I don't understand. What is wrong? What didn't I understand? Where do I need to go back?"

6 just shook his head again and jerked his hand away, one hand keeping a tight grasp on 9's arm as he continued to point and gesture. "You have to understand, 9! You have to! It's not right at all! It has to be fixed! You have to understand!"

Frustration crept into 9's expression, no matter how he tried not to show it. He hadn't understood 6 before until it was too late. What was he trying to tell him now? "6, please. I can't understand you when you talk in riddles. You need to tell me what I need to find!"

But 6 just turned to grip his arm with both hands, giving him a look that almost bordered on terrified. "Please, 9. Please. You have to go back. You have to fix what went wrong. I know you'll find the key. I know you will!"

Another voice cut into the dream as 6 said those words, and in moments, the mist and green and darkness had dissipated, replaced by daylight filtering through a window high above.

Above him was 7, looking down at him with a horrified expression, one hand cupping his face. He noticed that her own form was battered, with a long rip in the fabric from one shoulder cleanly down the arm. He almost didn't want to know what other damage she had sustained. "Oh, thank the creator!" she cried, leaning down to hug him close, though her grip loosened when he winced from the pain in his shoulder. "You've been out for days. I've... we've been worried to death! We were starting to wonder if you'd ever wake up!"

9 didn't respond at first. He just blinked a few times, trying to come to grips with what exactly had just happened. Then he lifted his working arm, carefully hugging 7 closer. "I had another dream," he explained quietly, noticing when her frame tensed immediately. "I saw 6 this time. He was... drawing. All over the walls and floors. A pattern. A circle, split into three parts, with clockwise arrows pointing around each one..."

He heard the frantic clicking of the twins as 7 lifted her head to look at him, brow furrowed worriedly. "It can't have meant anything, 9. It was probably just a result of the hit you took..."

"No!" His outburst caused 7 to jerk back, and though he immediately regretted it, he couldn't just stop. "No, he's trying to tell me something! To tell us something! He kept saying I didn't understand... that I need to go back. I have to fix something that's wrong. I just don't know what!"

9 sat up slowly as 7 moved back, and it was only then that he realized that her injuries were much worse at second glance. Aside from her slashed open arm, one of her sides appeared to be mashed in, and her right leg was torqued to the point where it could not have been easy to walk on. He could see the crutch she'd used to walk in on. Without 2 or 5...

Before he could continue his worried train of thought, 7 reached up to rest a hand against the rough fabric of her companion's cheek, looking him straight in the eye. "9, it was a dream. Just like the dream you had with 5. Nothing more. It's just your mind reminding you how much we all miss them."

He furrowed his brow, reaching up to grab her hand. "5 told me something you'd never told anyone in that dream, 7. How can you play this off as my mind playing tricks on me?"

"For all I know, you could've guessed!" 7 cried. When 9 drew back, his expression insulted, she sighed and pulled her hand away, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. "I'm sorry, 9. I just... today's been stressful. I just... I don't know how this makes any sense. We saw their spirits come out of the talisman. They went into the sky. They looked happy. 6 looked overjoyed that you realized what he was trying to tell you. Why would he be trying to tell you now that something is wrong?"

Groaning, 9 shook his head, the absurdity of what he had blurted before finally coming to startling crystal clarity. "I don't know. I don't know, 7. I really don't. I just can't bring myself to believe that this is only a dream. Only my tired mind playing tricks on me. Please, 7. You have to believe me."

7 stared at him for the longest time after the silence fell in the room. The twins still watched from nearby, 3 clutching her brother's arm as 4 clicked his lenses a few times, the sound drawing 3's attention up. They communicated in that method for a moment before looking back, their expressions no less worried than before. That seemed to draw 7 out of her thoughts and she sighed, reaching for her crutch to stand up. "You should rest, 9. We're so few now. I can't bear to lose anyone else."

Those words saw her hobbling out of the room, 3 and 4 immediately coming to her aid, and 9 sighed as he laid back to stare at the ceiling. He couldn't get those haunting ghostly images out of his head, the three-part circles and the arrows. The arrows had some special significance. They had to. 6 never drew anything without purpose. He drew it because people had to know. Even in death, he was trying to warn 9.

Or was a warning what was really being relayed? What if there was something else that 9 had missed before? Damn the creator for 6 and his riddles! He had developed a fondness for the odd little doll, but sometimes...

Giving a sigh, he shuttered his optics and tried to settle, but the conversation with 7 and 6's insistent pleading and grasping haunted his mind right along with the ethereal images on the walls. This time, when he slept, there was nothing but that.

_((Artist Note: As a writer, I've found myself in an interesting predicament in this chapter. I don't know what 6 is trying to tell 9. So I'm leaving that up to you... my friends and loyal readers. Throw some ideas at me along with your comments when you reply to this chapter, and we'll see what sticks!))_


	3. Chapter 3

For the better part of the next week, 9 did little more than drift in and out of consciousness, though he had no clue if this was due to his injuries or something trying to drag him into yet another unsolvable vision. Whatever 6 was trying to tell him, he could not stay awake long enough to focus. Nothing was making any sense. Obviously there was something he needed to do. There must've been, or 6 would not be coming to him in a ghostly vision to tell him to do it!

Sparks shot from his injured shoulder. Surely it hadn't been that bad before. He clenched his jaw against the awful sensation, optics shuttered tightly, trying his best to ignore it. It was frustrating, being unable to do anything but lay here while 7, injured as she was, went out into the Emptiness with the twins to look for supplies. She was in no condition for this sort of thing!

He hissed as a bolt of pain shot through him. Why was he hurting so? He didn't recall the pain being nearly this fierce when he first woke. Perhaps it was his nervous mind causing him to misconceive the ache for something greater than it really was? That would make sense, wouldn't it?

9's attention was not on the room around him. Perhaps if it was, he would have noticed the swirling green mist building up on the floor near him and the nervous, uneven wooden footsteps that accompanied it. He may have heard the trembling intake of breath before a chilly hand with sharp, prickly fingers closed on his arm. "9!"

Had it not been for his shoulder, 9 would have sat up straight almost immediately, optics wide as he turned to stare at the one who had arrived. It was 6 again, expression petulant as he gazed at his younger friend, hands clenched tightly on the uninjured arm and flexing compulsively. For the first time since this insanity had started, 9 couldn't help but give a relieved smile. "6! Thank the maker. I know you're trying to tell me something. Please, 6... I need more clues."

"No," 6 stated plainly, and for a moment, 9 was startled. "No, you need a key." He removed his hands from 9's arm, gripping the key around his neck for a moment, gaze unfocused. "You need a key. You need a key to find the answer. You need a key to fix the mistake and make things right again."

Again, 9 found himself growing frustrated. He had no idea what 6 was trying to tell him. "A key? Like your key? We can't use your key, 6, you--..." He trailed off, then sighed, reaching out to place a gentle hand on 6's trembling shoulder. "Your body. You fell into the abyss. I don't expect you to remember..."

6 jerked back toward him at that, once more gripping his arm. "No, no, no! You've got it wrong! You need a key, 9! A key! A key to fix the mistake before everything goes wrong! Before everything is gone!"

That caused 9 to freeze, his hand moving toward 6 uncertainly. "Before everything is gone? I don't understand. 6, what is going on? What will happen if I don't find and fix this mistake?"

"Everything gone, everything gone," 6 moaned on, shaking his head almost feverishly. "Everything! Everything gone!"

"6!"

But 6 did not respond. 7, however, did. It was her screaming his name that finally drew him out of the fever dream, jerking upright and ignoring the pain in his shoulder. "What?! What is it?!"

7's expression was utterly terrified. He'd never seen her look so... frail before. "It's 3!"

*****

Despite the pain both of them were feeling, they were quick in approaching where 7 had left the twins. 4 was hovering worriedly over his sister, making an odd keening from somewhere in his chest as his lenses flickered and flashed. 3 herself was convulsing violently, laying on her side, her own lenses flashing erratically in a pattern that 9 could only assume meant nothing but gibberish. "When did she start doing this?!"

"Just a few minutes ago," 7 replied, rushing to 4's side to pull him back, keeping him from trying to pull his twin upright. The strange keening got louder. "9, what do we do?!"

He had no idea. It was a horrifying thought. For once, 9 had no remark, no reply, no way to stop this waking nightmare. 3 was still seizing, her little hands clenching with each violent tremor, and all he could do was stand and stare as if watching something far detached from himself. This was very real, and he had no way at all to stop it.

"I don't know!" he finally cried. "She's... by the maker, I don't know how to help her!"

4 keened again, lenses flashing erratically at 9, his expression distraught. It was then that 9 noticed it. 4 may not have been convulsing, but he seemed somehow weaker, clinging to 7 as if he could not hold himself up on his own. "Oh, maker..." 7 was murmuring, gently stroking 4's hood as she tried to calm him, her optics never once leaving 3's trembling form. She had only ever had to deal with threats she could meet head-on... things she could fight or flee. This was something entirely new to her. Someone in her family needed her help. Someone she protected needed saving. She had promised never to let anyone in her family down again, but now... "Oh, maker, what do we do...?"

Quietly, 9 knelt, working to try to straighten 3 out on the floor, or at least to cushion her head to keep her from hurting herself. She seemed to finally be quieting a bit, panting raggedly as her little body began to still, fingers still flexing convulsively. Hearing 4's plaintive keening, 3 began to make a similar sound, though higher pitched, weakly reaching for her brother. The other twin was immediately out of 7's grasp and hugging his sister close, lenses clicking into hers. 9 may have had no idea what they were saying to one another, but just seeing them like this was soul breaking.

It was nearly a full half hour later before 3's convulsions finally stopped completely and she lay exhausted and frightened in 4's arms, small fingers curled into the soft fabric of his body, afraid that if she let go her nightmare might start all over again. 9 made it a point to ignore his own pain, carefully helping them both to their cot, making sure they were curled up soundly together before he finally moved back to the main "room," sitting down with a heavy sigh. "What was that?"

"If I knew, do you think I would've woken you up? I'm just glad you came to when I called you." 7's tone was tired and worried. "She's never done that before. And did you see how weak 4 was? It was like he could barely move. Something's horribly wrong with them, 9. I don't know what it is, but... we need to find a way to stop it before it happens again."

9 nodded slowly in agreement, a frown creasing his face. The problem, he knew, was figuring out how to cut off this odd downward spiral before it got even worse. He thought back to his dream, reflecting quietly on 6's words, until all at once realization dawned on him. Could it really be that simple?

His expression caught 7's attention and she frowned at him, but before she could speak, he caught her hands in his. "We need to go back to the scientist's lab! Before you woke me up, I had another dream. It was 6. He was telling me we had to find a key to fix a mistake before everything was gone. I think this is what he meant. Before he died, he kept telling us they were trapped, and my answers lay in the first room. What if there was something I missed?"

Despite the disbelief in her expression, 7 did nod slowly, her fingers curling around his. "But we can't move that far like this. The twins..."

"We'll give them time to rest. Then, tomorrow morning, we move on. We need to get to the scientist's lab. We have to go back to the first room. The answer is there, 7. Whatever 6 was telling me... it's in that room."

*****

It was dawn when the small family started out again, with 4 bracing 3 as best he could. She still hadn't gotten her strength back, but they were moving much better than they had before, and despite 7's slow movements from a restricting injury, she seemed to be getting along pretty well herself.

They had a few tense moments, of course, when the rumbling of a digger beast caused the ground beneath them to shudder, but each time they paused, moving on carefully. By the time they reached the old house, the sun was already halfway through the daytime sky, and all four of them were exhausted.

It was the climb up the steps that was, undoubtedly, the hardest part of the journey. They were quiet as they could be, even though they knew there was nothing here to harm them. For some reason, the machines left the scientist's home be.

They were all exhausted by the time they reached the top. Especially 3 and 4, who appeared to be growing weaker by the minute. As soon as they'd gotten to the First Room, the pair found an old towel and promptly curled up on it, close as could be, clicking their lenses at one another in fear and worry. 9 had ignored the pain in his shoulder most of the whole way, pulling 7 onto his back to help her up the steps where her injured leg would not allow her to climb.

"Well, we're here," 7 murmured once they'd stopped, leaning heavily against 9 as he headed toward the same towel to help her sit. "Now what?"

9 gave her a soft smile. "Now you rest with the twins. I'm going to see if I can find what 6 was trying to tell me to find."

After getting his older companion settled comfortably, 9 was off again, ignoring the ache in every last one of his joints and gears as he moved around the lab, climbing over what he could. He carefully stacked papers he found that were full diagrams of how he and the others had been built, more for the sake of remembering than anything else, until something caught his eye up on the table. A small silver box sitting near a large, leather-bound book. Maybe the key... was inside the box?

Bracing himself for the pain he knew was coming, the little stitchpunk started to climb up stacks of books until he reached the top, stopping only once he stood firm, grasping his shoulder with a quiet hiss of pain. He had to shrug it off. Had to ignore it. 7 and the twins were counting on him. He shuttered his lenses tightly, then made his way across the table. The small silver box was unlocked, and when he opened it, he blinked a few times at what he saw.

It appeared to be a small clasp with three holes much like what he had seen on the fabrication machine. The tips of each clasped – designed, he assumed, to grab hold of the talisman – were situated so that they seemed to swirl in a clockwise pattern...

His lenses widened. That was it! It had to be the key 6 was talking about! Be that as it may, though, he knew he'd only uncovered part of the puzzle. There was something else... something important he was missing. He had the key, but it didn't do much good without whatever it unlocked, so he tucked it away carefully in his zipper compartment and turned toward the leather book. It was thick and heavy... probably a journal of some kind. He ran his hand reverently across the top, expression sad. How the scientist must have toiled here as he made them, every stitch as loving from 1 all the way to 9. And now, only four of his final creations survived. How sad would he have been to know this?

He was quick to shake himself out of that thought. The scientist was dead, yes, but he had left so much for them to build on. They just had to find what those remnants were. So he straightened, reached out, and pushed the journal open.

Page after page of writing, most of it about the war itself, unfolded before 9's optics, and he continued reading as the light outside waned, despite 7 calling up at him to come down and rest. There had to be some kind of answer, didn't there?

The more he read, however, the more one thing became clear. The scientist had not expected any of them to die. He had expected them to be able to survive together, and to defeat the machine together. There were indications of worry expressed of what would happen if just one of his delicate creations perished, and the worry grew deeper as he thought of more than just one being destroyed.

They were pieces of a whole. Unless they were together, they could not survive.

His optics widened.

This was the answer.

He continued to read, now with even more purpose. If the scientist had brought them to life, surely he must've had some way to bring them back if something went wrong with his initial plan! When he found nothing, he muttered a curse. Things couldn't have been that easy, could they?

His lenses narrowed and he plunked down, leaving the journal open on the page detailing his own creation. He had to think on the dream of 6. What the troubled doll had told him. The images meant something. Perhaps he had to place the talisman onto the strange clasp... press the symbols in the opposite order...

It was a long shot and he knew it. But they would not survive long in their current condition, and the twins were deteriorating rapidly. If they failed, then he was out of ideas, but if they didn't try, how did he know they were wrong?

It was growing dark when he climbed back down, running over to drop to his knees in front of 7, ignoring the pain in his shoulder as he reached out to grab her hands. The twins, awakened by his frantic running, lifted their heads to click their lenses at him in pained exhaustion. "7, 3, 4..." 9 was saying. "I think I know what 6 was trying to tell me. We're in danger of dying – all of us – if we don't fix our mistake. We weren't supposed to release the souls... we were supposed to restore them!"

"What are you talking about?" 7 questioned, immediately alert. "You can't be serious!"

9 set his jaw, tightening his hands on hers. "It sounds crazy, I know. But I know I'm right. I have to be. What other choice do we have? We're too injured to even gather supplies we need at this point, and none of us – not even 3 and 4 – know repairs that well. Besides that, they're too weak right now." He nodded slowly, resolve set. "No. We can't do this alone, and we'll die if we don't do something soon. 6 was right. Everything will be gone."

Slowly, 7 shook her head, though her optics never left 9's. "I can't believe I'm listening to this. Okay... okay, so assume you're right. What are we supposed to do?"

That was when 9's expression tightened, something between pain and disgust at his own thoughts. "I think we can bring them back, but we need someone who can repair us. 7... we need to find 5's body."


	4. Chapter 4

The twins and 7 could not travel. That was something 9 had pretty much resigned himself to. His insistence that 5's body must be found had 7 gripping his arms and begging him not to. They were the last four left, the only living creatures left in the world, and she did not want him to go out there and risk his life alone.

9, on the other hand, had his mind set. He had few other options, and right now, he knew exactly what they needed. They weren't too terribly far from where the war had come closest to the city, and there had to be another way across the chasm. The machine had dropped 5's body rather unceremoniously and moved on, so there was a very good chance that aside from the damage to his eyepatch, his body should have been in relatively decent condition.

At the very least, he could hope.

7 had insisted he take the talisman and its second half with him, then, at the very least, but 9 refused. If he got captured by rogue monsters, he did not want the device to fall into the wrong hands, and it was safest hidden in that little silver box in the scientist's lab. He would go without it.

Despite the fact that he was in the best shape, he still had to move almost painfully slow through the emptiness. He was aching from his own injuries, and his shoulder was still too mangled to really move. Not only that, but the diggers were increasing in number. They had to be. He felt the rumbles underfoot more often now. They did not seem to be the sort to hunt the stitchpunks, but if they were moving around so much now, there had to be something in the area they were after.

Every hour or so, he would have to stop and sit, rubbing his shoulder. He started at dawn and already the sun had hit its peak, starting to make its slow crawl toward the opposite horizon. He frowned. He did not like to move in the emptiness after dark, but he had to keep moving forward. It was going to be even slower going later, returning while carrying 5's body, which would be added dead weight to his own aching form.

On the upside, as he walked, he was fortunate enough to come across a child's strap-on roller skate that still worked fairly well, and so, he found the nearest length of wire he could and wound it about one part, pulling it along behind him. While heavy, it would not be much added weight to place 5 on it for the trip back, and it may even serve useful to the engineer once he was fully aware again.

The hardest part of his trek, he was aware, would be finding another way across, since the Fabrication Machine had destroyed it when it chased them and killed 6. Part of him winced at that. 6 insisted that they had to fix this mistake, but how could they, completely? Sure, 5 and 1's bodies they could recover, and probably 2's if they looked hard enough. But 8's body had probably been incinerated, and 6 himself... the image of his small body falling away into the mist was something 9 would never forget.

Quietly contemplating this most recent dilemma, he walked back and forth up the edge of the crevice, tipping his head to one side when he noticed his salvation. A second bridge! Something inside him rallied at the thought and he moved toward it, pulling the roller skate dutifully behind him. So now all he had to do was find the tunnel, go through, and find 5's body on the other side. Easy. Right?

Sighing, he continued on. Every step saw him feeling more and more exhausted, and it got worse trying to pick through the debris in the tunnel. Not to mention it was dark, and he did not have the added help of his light staff to help him. At the very least, it was still daylight when he reached the other side, slowly trudging along toward the area near the old phonograph... the last place he had seen 5 alive.

Sadness and a horrible ache of guilt shot through him as he grew closer. Already he could see the still burlap figure, limbs askew like a child's discarded toy, mouth open in that horrified wail he had released as his soul was forcibly ripped from his body. The burned hole in his eyepatch looked almost as fresh as the moment it had been torn, and 9 could almost imagine the wisps of smoke that had been rising from it. 5, of all of them, had been one of the most gentle. His death had hurt 9 the most. And now, with the opportunity to restore his friend so close, he felt a chill of apprehension. What if it didn't work? What if something went wrong?

Kneeling silently beside the still form, he reached out to lay a hand on the buttoned chest, free hand moving to close his mouth and give him some sense of dignity. "5..." His chest tightened. "I'm so sorry. I... I wish I could've..." His voice cut out, unable to continue for a moment. "...I'm going to make this right, 5. I promise. I've messed up so much. I owe this much to you."

Resigned again to his task, 9 set himself to carefully lugging 5's lifeless body to the roller skate, tying it down carefully with extra lengths of wire. If it tipped, he did not want 5 to go sliding off. In his mind, he was trying to think of what he would say if – no, not if... when – the engineer woke. He would have to try to fix his eyepatch, at least. It would be awkward to go around with a hole in it where he had no lens to see from.

At the very least, he needed to make it through the tunnel before the last light waned. Getting stuck in there, knowing what prowled at night in the areas this close to the old factory, set a shiver through him that made his shoulder ache with renewed vigor. He clenched his jaw against it and continued. It was going to be a long walk.

*****

The moon was starting its slow crawl through the sky when 9 finally arrived back at the scientist's lab. "7! 7, can you get to the top of the steps?"

He was at least somewhat pleased with how his voice carried. Hopefully she was awake... hopefully they were all okay. When nothing happened for a few minutes, he started to fear the worst, until he saw 7's head peek over the top step to look down at him. "Did you find him?"

"I'll have him up the steps in a minute, but it'll be slow going!" He did not want to point out that, for all intents and purposes, he was lugging around a dead sack. "Are the twins all right?"

He wasn't sure if 7 nodded, but he had to assume she had. "They're doing okay. Sleeping right now. I'll wait for you up here, okay?"

9 nodded himself, moving to carefully remove the securing wires from 5's frame. "All right! I'll see you up there!"

7 did not respond, but he noticed she had left the top step. She must've gone back to her charges. Sighing, he looked at the wire in his hands. "Well, 5. Hope you can forgive me for this." Quietly, he pulled 5 onto his back, using the wire to awkwardly secure him in place. "I really don't have any other choice, though. You're a little heavier than I am, and definitely heavier than 7... and she was fully conscious and able to help me when we were going up the stairs."

It was odd, talking to 5 like he could still respond, but at least it filled the silence. He was going to be hurting badly after this long climb, and though he wasn't looking forward to it, he knew he really had no choice. Clenching his jaw, he began the slow trip up. More than once, 5 slipped on his back and he had to stop to readjust, but he was not going to just lay down and give up here. He was tired, he was hurting more than he could ever remember hurting, and he was worrying more with each minute that passed that his plan would not work.

But didn't he owe it to the others to try?

The top step was the hardest one to overcome, and for a few minutes after he reached the top he just lay on his side panting, releasing the wires holding 5 to him, causing his lost friend to roll to the side, one arm dropping to the wooden floor with a dull, lifeless thud. The longer he lay there, he couldn't help but realize he was doing no one any good. And so, sighing, he climbed to his feet and began the slow walk into the lab.

Once inside, he motioned for 7 to help him to a spot away from the twins so they would not be disturbed, laying 5 out on his back with his arms flat at his sides. As 7 was gently placing a piece of felt from a pile of scraps nearby over the hole in the mechanic's eyepatch, securing it with uncertain stitching, 9 was moving toward a stack of books to climb up to the tabletop where the talisman and its missing second half were hidden in the small silver box. When he climbed back down, he was holding them almost reverently. "I guess this is what the humans used to call the eleventh hour," he murmured, staring at the two pieces. "It's now or never."

7 frowned, lifting her head from her work. "You really think...?"

"It has to," 9 interrupted, giving his head a solemn shake. "It has to, 7. We've got no other options left. Here... step back a little. Don't know if there'll be any kind of backwash or anything."

She complied almost immediately and 9, lenses narrowing, slowly began bringing the two pieces together. The clasp snapped out of his hand when it was near the talisman, almost as if it was alive, and nearly caught his fingers as it snugly secured itself around the piece it had been separated from. Both 7 and 9 looked at it warily, especially when it began to hum, bathing their little corner of the room in an eerie green glow. "Let's just hope the right soul knows where it's going."

He was shaking, almost too hard to press the symbols on the talisman. Just like 6 had hinted him to... clockwise, from the first symbol. At first, nothing happened, and 9's heart almost fell straight to his feet. He hadn't misinterpreted 6's frantic warnings, had he?

But then the thing jerked in his hands, and the sudden heat it pulsed with caused 9 to drop it immediately. It clattered to the ground near 5, jumping around erratically, before a smokey light all but exploded from it. 5's body was completely engulfed, but when it passed, he still lay quiet and lifeless. Still dead.

7's face fell and she shook her head as 9 knelt to carefully pick up the device, shaking. "It didn't work, 9." She gripped her crutch, shaking her head slowly. "It didn't work. He's still dead."

9's expression was bewildered and lost. He held the talisman close to him, carefully detaching the bottom part from the top, as he stared at 5's body, wondering what could have possibly gone wrong. "Did I miss something? I couldn't have. No. This isn't right. It should've worked!"

A sigh escaped 7 as she moved over, grabbing 9's uninjured shoulder as tight as she could manage. "9. You tried... but you can't wake the dead. 5 is gone. They all are."

The sorrow in her voice broke 9's heart, but he did not move, even when she slowly moved back to where she had been resting with the twins. No. How could this have gone wrong? He was so sure he had 6's warnings handled. So sure that he was right! But now... now, he could only stare at 5's inert remains. His chin dropped to his chest. All of that work, all of that toil, for nothing. He had no other options... could think of nothing else to help save any of them. They would die like this, and for once, 9 was without answers.

What could have gone wrong?

*****

9 was not sure when he had dropped into rest cycle, but he was still sitting up, knees drawn up to his chest, when a scraping noise disturbed him. He lifted his head immediately, casting a wary glance around him, but he was alone under the table in that dark corner with 5's corpse his only company. The scraping, however, was not coming from outside. It was coming from somewhere nearby.

Another wary glance around brought his lenses back to 5, and that was when he noticed his hands. One had shifted, and the other was clenching, stiff fingers curling in as life seemed to be trying to crawl back into him. 9 immediately clamored toward him. "5?!"

As if 9's cry was the catalyst to bring him back, 5's whole body twitched and convulsed as he drew in a ragged, startled gasp, sitting up straight almost instantly, single lens wide. 9 was sure at this point that 5 was not fully aware of his surroundings, as he stared around bewildered, a groan rising in his chest until it became a full-blown wail. He was terrified. He didn't know what had happened to him. 9's reaction was immediate.

His arms went out and he pulled his friend close, grip as tight as he could with his injured shoulder. "5! 5, it's okay! You're okay; you're safe! It's me! It's 9!"

He did not stop screaming immediately, but the sound did draw attention from outside. The twins, looking somehow stronger, peeked in first and immediately skittered back, a bit terrified by what they were seeing. 7 was under the table in an instant, trying to ignore her injured leg, and she gaped when she saw 9 holding 5 as comfortingly as he could, trying to soothe the older stitchpunk's confused terror.

"Here!" 7 sat quickly, reaching out to take 5 from 9, resting his head beneath her chin as she started rocking back and forth, stroking his back quietly as she held him. "Shh, shh... shhhhhh... 5, shh..."

Between 9 and 7, calm slowly seemed to return to 5, who was gasping erratically for a few moments as his lens flickered and blinked, fingers twitching. "No, no, no, this is all wrong. This can't be! I'm dead! You two can't be dead too! Oh, maker, please tell me you two aren't dead! I can't stand that! Please, I'm dead, this has to be wrong...!"

"We're not dead, 5," 9 insisted, reaching out to place a comforting hand over 5's, which had come to rest on 7's shoulder from where his arms were wound about her. "Neither are you. You're alive and safe. You're home, with us."

5 was still shaking, but he did release his grip on 7 somewhat, and he lifted his head a bit as the twins skittered in, immediately dropping to either side of 7 to pull both she and their restored friend into the tightest hug their small frames could manage. While he still looked confused, 5 finally shook his head a little, trying to make sense of his situation. "I remember... I remember the music. The phonograph. I remember finding a record, and it rolling away, and then the beast..." A shudder rippled through him. "I remember... you opening the talisman, 9." He turned to look at his friend, expression puzzled. "I didn't want to go... but I went with the others. I was able to talk to them, even though we were... gone. 6 started freaking out almost immediately, insisting something wasn't right..."

"It wasn't. We found the scientist's journal. He never meant for any of us to die. Without all of us together... the rest of us would die. We have to exist as one whole unit." 9 smiled a little, squeezing 5's hand. "I'll explain it all in detail later. How do you feel?"

Slowly, 5 sat up, experimentally clenching each hand before he slowly, carefully, pushed to his feet. "A... a little wobbly, actually. But I think I'll be okay." His hand drifted to his eyepatch out of impulse, probing at the felt now covering where the hole was. "...yeah, should've expected that." Giving a sigh, he looked over his friends, then frowned. "You're both hurt!"

7 gave a slow nod, looking to her torn open arm to her badly mangled hip. "A mess of parts," she sighed. "It was 9's idea to find you first, since you could possibly fix us."

5 screwed up his expression a little bit, then sighed, rubbing the back of his head almost sheepishly. "Well... I mean, I can try. I'm not as good as 2, but I remember a lot of what he taught me--..." He trailed off when a thought occurred to him, lens widening. "Wait. If you brought me back, does that mean that 2...?!"

"That's what we're hoping," 9 replied. "The device doesn't work that great, though, and I'll need your help to figure it out. We've got work to do."


	5. Chapter 5

"I don't understand why I have to go through repairs first." Despite her irritated tone, 7's expression was as good natured as she could muster, what with 5 working on straightening out a badly bent strut in her right leg. "You could've worked on 9. His shoulder is really bad."

5 actually smiled. "Well, if you're complaining, that means I'm doing this right. In any case, your injuries are more severe. 9 can still run if he needs to, where you can barely hobble." He gave her a fond glance, though it flickered when she glanced away. Clearing his throat, he looked back down at his work. "Uh... what I mean is... anyway, once we're done here, I think our next order of business should be to find the next nearest of us. Who's closest from here now?"

Both 7 and 9 looked at each other, as if considering their answer long and hard before looking back to 5 and, in unison, responding, "1."

That made 5 wince, though he laughed a little in time, reaching for a nearby tool. "Oof. Yeah, you did say he took your place, huh? So his body's closest..."

"Not too far past the ravine, actually," 7 commented, and her jaw visibly clenched when 5 reached in to try to wrench a bent bit of her frame back into place. "It's a pity we can't just go down there and find 6's body..." She lifted her head slightly, glancing toward 9, who had visibly started to doze off. "9? Why don't you get some rest? You've been up almost constantly since yesterday. A rest cycle will probably do you some good."

9's head jerked up at that, and after a moment of confused blinking, he shook his head. "No. I'll wait until 5 is done with you." He nodded toward where the mechanic was elbow deep in 7's inner workings again, his expression entirely focused. "I can rest while he's fixing my shoulder."

5 gave him a strange look, brow arched, expression skeptical. "You sure? Your shoulder looked pretty messed up. I don't think you could sleep through those kind of repairs if you were dead."

Smiling faintly, 9 actually managed a short laugh. "I don't know. I'm pretty tired right now, so I'm willing to bet I could probably manage." Grinning, he sat down on the floor next to 7. "Besides. Someone has to listen for trouble, and since the twins are soundly out, that falls up to me while you two work."

"Work," 7 snorted, smirking a bit. "Right. Because this is exactly the sort of work I wanted to spend my afternoon doing."

All of them shared a smile at that, and 5 continued to work in silence, making a clicking noise in his voice box. "This is the worst I've ever seen you mangled, 7, and I recall some really rough times. That gear you got bent up... the corkscrew stuck in your hip..." 7 rolled her optics dramatically. "But this... your leg's almost completely twisted around the other way. Almost got the bad part out, though, and the Scientist had all sorts of extra pieces for us if he needed them. I was able to find matching parts."

9 nodded as he sank to a sit next to his friends, lenses focused on 5's hands. With only having the one lens, he never would have thought that 5 could be so precise, and he wondered as he observed just how many times 5 had repaired 7, affectionately scolding her for some imagined infraction. It wasn't as if he hadn't noticed the hints of adoration between the two before 5's violent death. A wave of guilt swept over him and he sighed. Should he even truly feel guilty over this? After all, 5 was dead at the time. But he was back now, and it was obvious any feeling she had harbored for the soft, slender white doll still existed.

He was quiet through the rest of the repairs, attention as focused as he could force it to be. He watched as 7's expression shifted and tightened; he listened as 5 winced or apologized in hushed, gentle tones. When 5 leaned back, moving his hands away from 7, he saw as their lenses met and 5 gave a quiet, shy smile, returned so easily by their female companion. There was definitely something still there.

What right did he really have to step in on that?

When 5 finally turned to him, 9 was almost relieved. He felt inexplicably exhausted, and while his friend straightened out the bent gears and frayed wires, he could finally shutter his lenses and get a much needed rest cycle. It would provide him with the focus he knew he needed to really get through all of this mess.

Despite the pain and the sparks shooting from the injury, and 5's voice as he apologized over and over again for things he just couldn't control, he found himself drifting into the rest cycle mere moments after 5 had truly gotten started.

*****

All things considered, with the success of finding the answers the First Room held and the resurrection of 5, 9 had not expected another ghostly visit from 6. But when he jerked his head up, certain 5 must be done with repairs, he found himself so close to the child-like artist's face that their lenses were nearly touching. "Ah!"

"Look down, 9," 6 stated quietly. "Look down."

Scooting back a bit from the ethereal green form, 9 glanced down and then back at 6, who was giving him an expectant look. "I don't... 6, I don't see anything."

But 6 just shook his head, reaching up to grab 9's arms. The icy cold of those prickly fingers sent chills straight through him. "No, 9. You have to listen. You have to hear. Look down. You must."

9 sighed deeply. And here they stood again, at that annoying impasse where he needed information that 6 himself, despite knowing what to say, could not directly give. What did the prophet want him to look down at? A map? The world?

A thought occurred to him then and he gave 6 a long look. "Wait. Look down. Do you mean into the ravine? Are you trying to tell me that we can find your body?"

6 smiled at him slightly, in that slow, blank way that read of an expression after a troubling vision. He had said all he was going to say to the youngest, and that was the end of it. 9 tried not to let that bother him. The mad artist was genuinely trying to be helpful. It wasn't his fault that he was not designed to be direct with his prophecies. So he reached out and placed a gentle hand atop the troubled prophet's head, smiling fondly at him, and 6 beamed proudly. "You understand!"

"I do, 6," 9 murmured, ruffling the tattered, ink stained yarn that topped 6's head. "Thank you."

*****

Waking this time was much easier than it had been for every previous dream encounter with 6. Perhaps it was because he had come to expect the unusual, and the weird feelings that lingered right after. He was aware of 5 and 7 close to him, and of 5 finishing tying a knot where he had sewn the damaged burlap back together. Blinking a few times to clear his vision, he smiled up at them. "Well that wasn't so bad."

"Still not entirely sure how you slept right through that," 5 chuckled faintly. "Your shoulder was shooting sparks like a welding torch. But... you did great. I got it all fixed up and we're ready to go. We've got to find 1's body while 7's recovering."

That caught 9 off-guard and he glanced toward the lady warrior, who just smiled faintly at him. "Don't give me that look. I took worse damage. I'll stay here with the twins while you two get 1. I should be okay to go with you to get 2 after that, and 1 can stay with the twins at that point."

After a moment of letting the words sink in, 9 gave a slow nod. "I can't argue with you, honestly. You make a good point. Okay, then. So 5 and I will go find 1. But if you hear anything, I want the three of you to hide until you're sure it's us. We've all suffered enough death. Let's not make this worse.

*****

With company, the walk to retrieve 1's body went much quicker. The roller skate, which 5 had praised as an innovative idea on 9's part, came with them. After all, it would be the easiest way to transport the body back to the First Room, and neither 5 nor 9 felt comfortable carrying 1 between them. The skate may slow them down, but not enough as actively trying to carry the body would have.

"I'm almost glad I wasn't hear for this part," 5 sighed, rubbing his eyepatch absently as they approached the hulking shell of the Machine, easily seen from the incline they were working down. "If it was as bad as you say, then I probably wouldn't have been much help, and I'm sure 1 would've just spent most of the time yelling at me..." He trailed off, then blinked. 9 was unfocused, gazing past the machine toward the bridge that had carried him to 5's body in the first place. "9?"

"Huh?" The other doll lifted his head sharply, blinking a few times at his friend, who was giving him an odd sideways look. "Oh... sorry. Just... I was thinking is all."

5 frowned, turning fully toward him. "About what?" 9 did not respond. "9, come on, we've been over this. No secrets, okay? Keeping secrets just gets us into trouble." He gave him a playful punch on the arm. "C'mon. We've got a lot left to do and not a whole lot of time."

Despite the despondent look 9 wore after that, the two of them trudged on, only pausing when they approached the giant, dead shell of the beast. 5 shifted uneasily, adjusting his pack out of instinct, and from the look of him, 9 was certain he was ready to turn tail and run. Smiling faintly, he reached out to rest a hand on his friend's arm. "It's dead, 5. It can't bother us now."

Though 5 nodded slowly, the apprehension did not leave his expression. "Maybe so. But so was I, two days ago."

9 grimaced. There was no way he could deny that or sugar coat the truth. 5 had a point... he himself had been dead just two days before, and here he stood. Rolling his shoulders, he forced himself not to think of that, picking his way underneath the monster to where 1 still lay on his side, motionless as he had been from the moment his soul had been forcibly ripped from his body.

"His will be an awkward awakening," 9 sighed. "He did save my life. I owe him."

That caused 5 to snort, which startled 9 into looking toward him. "You saved his once. I don't think you owe him anything."

But 9 just smiled as he reached to carefully pull 1 from where he lay, motioning for 5 to help. "I do owe him one thing." He chuckled when 5 gave him a strange look. "I owe him a cape."

5 grinned at that, shaking his head as they started back. It was as they were strapping 1's body to the roller skate and 5 was examining his mutilated hand that 9 turned back toward the direction of the ravine again. From his expression, something was certainly on his mind, and it set 5's nerves on end. "9...?"

"I had another dream," 9 finally admitted. "6 was telling me to look down. I think he meant into the ravine."

Blinking, 5 furrowed his brow. "I don't know what he thinks you'll find, if you really had that dream. I mean... his body fell into the mist. He's long gone. We have to rebuild him, just like we have to rebuild 8."

9 gave his head a slow shake, turning as he started toward the tunnel. "No. No, I think he did mean look into the ravine. Wait here!"

His feet took off almost before his body realized what was going on, but he caught himself and was scampering across the battlefield before a protest could leave 5's mouth. He was only partly aware of his friend pursuing, but he couldn't focus on that. He had to focus on what was ahead of him. He had to keep running, and he knew quite well that at the end, he would find something. 6 had yet to steer him wrong, didn't he?

When he reached the ravine, he shuddered. He'd forgotten how long the drop was. Walking back and forth near the bridge, he frowned. He couldn't see anything down in the mist, though the sun high in the midday sky was slowly clearing the fog that obscured his vision. He was looking down. What more did 6 want?

He was aware of 5 close to him when the other doll finally caught up, panting and breathless, to stare down into the deep. "I still don't see why we're doing this..."

For a long moment, there was nothing. 9 was beginning to worry. Were they in the wrong place, or not looking in the right spot? Then a flash of light off something metallic caught his attention and he immediately jerked his head around that way. A bigger grin could not have split his face. "5! Look!"

Startled, the one-eyed doll turned his attention to where 9 was pointing, and his shock was visible. There, dangling limp from the key hanging about his neck, was 6. He had been caught by an old dead tree root jutting from the ravine's wall. "...well I'll be! There he is!"

"How to get to him is the problem." 9 walked to one side. "The cliff face is sheer. We'll have to lower a rope, or a pulley..."

5's expression tightened. "No. We'll need some sort of device. Someone will have to be lowered so that we can untangle the key from that branch. Let's get 1 back to the First Room. We're going to need 2."

*****

7 was relieved when the two other stitchpunks were making their slow way up the spiral staircase, taking turns climbing, lifting, and pushing 1's lifeless body over each step. It was slow going, and they were relieved to finally be at the top. The problem still remained, however, of the length of time it took for the device to take effect.

"I think it may need to actually be plugged into something," 5 suggested. "Can we get up to the table again? I vaguely remember the Scientist unplugging a wire from under my buttons. It went to the strange mask. Maybe that has something to do with it?"

It didn't take long for both of them to take to that idea after that, climbing up to collect the wires and climbing back down to hook one end to the glowing talisman. The other connected to a latch inside 1's chest. Still, they did not start right away. 9 insisted there was one more thing he had to do and scampered off into one of the rooms there in the upper area of the old house. Upon his return, he was carrying a bit of red cloth and a small bauble. Nodding, he looked to 7. "Press the sequence. We're ready to go."

As 7 was pressing the symbols on the talisman, 9 was making quick work of a small cape. "Peace offering," he explained with a smile as the talisman passed its strange green glow to 1's limp frame. "Not that I think I'll need it."

The moments passed like hours, but unlike with 5, it did not take that long in reality for 1's hand to shift, or for the shutters of his optics to shift, open, and click shut again. The elder doll gave a weary groan, slowly pushing himself into a sitting position, though he did not maintain it for long. In no time the twins were upon him, clicking happily, both of them with their little arms wrapped so tightly around him that 1 could barely even muster up the breath to reject their affection.

"Off, now; both of you," he finally grumbled, though he made no effort to push them away when they only loosened their grip a bit instead of completely pulling off. "Hmph. So you figured it out, did you, 9?"

The eldest regarded the youngest speculatively at that, and 9 gave a dismissive smile. "I have 6 to thank for that. You knew?"

1 snorted. "It's all he went on about. When we did not truly rest, he knew something was wrong. Believe it or not, I have learned when one should put their faith in something even they may not understand."

9 gave a nod, and after a moment, he quietly offered the new cape to his elder. "Welcome home, 1."

For a moment, 1 was quiet. 4 moved far enough from his side for him to accept the cape, and both twins helped him to put on and latch it. "I'm rather surprised you remembered. So. Who all do you have left to find?"

As he was standing, 7 stepped up, her expression slightly tense. "2, as well as 6 and 8. That's all that's left."

"Then you'd best get started," 1 quipped, never once meeting the female's eyes. "There's an ill wind blowing, if the way 6 was acting before I woke was any indication. We aren't quite out of the woods yet."


	6. Chapter 6

The next few days were fairly hectic, with 5, 9, and 7 working almost non-stop on a raft they would carry back to the library. It was a painfully long trip, they were aware... and, they considered, not very open to bringing 2's body all the way back. Which was where the small group stood now, with the twins sitting close on either side of 1 as they discussed their current options.

"It will be dangerous just going," 1 was saying, his lenses narrowed faintly. "I understand the necessity... but is bringing him here truly the best options? Surely we must have some other choice."

7 frowned and leaned back slightly. "I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but... I agree with 1." When the others cast her sideways glances, even 1, she put up her hands in mock defense. "I know, I know. But I do. It's a long way to the library from here, and considering how long it takes to get anywhere and back, especially lugging an extra body? We'd be better off taking the talisman and wires with us. Besides, once we're out, we won't have to bring the raft back with us, and if 2 can help with the skate, it'll be much quicker going."

The others all nodded their agreement, and 5 leaned back on his hands. "So it's settled, then. We'll leave at first light and head for the library." There was something bordering on excitement in his tone, and 9 did his best to fight off a smile. 5 was ecstatic at the chance to finally see his beloved mentor again, and to be perfectly honest, who could blame him? "Are we agreed?"

For a moment, no one spoke. Th en, with a heavy sigh, 1 shook his head. "No." A very faint smile graced his aged face. "I am too old for such adventuring, and 3 and 4 are still very weak. I shall stay here, with them, and await your return." He looked between the twins, who were studyign his face closely. "Besides... who knows what we may find in this musty old room."

Slowly, 9 nodded. "Point. I can't argue with you on that, really. So you three will stay here, and the rest of us will find 2." Quietly he reached out, lifting the wire and the talisman halves with one hand as he unzipped his front with the other. "This will be risky. The monsters leave this room alone, but out in the Emptiness, there's a very real chance that the talisman will lead them straight to us."

Stiffening her back, 7 ran her hand almost lovingly over the shield she wore on he rright arm. "It's a risk we have to take. If we want to save 6... to rebuild 8... 5 will need an extra pair of hands." She smiled toward him, fondly. "I've every faith you could do this on your own, 5, but I know you. Someone needs to always remind you that you can."

"I must insist that you take extreme care." The surprising amount of worry in 1's tone caught even 9 off-guard. "6, before I woke, was insisting something dreadful was coming. Wailing on about a maw with great metal spikes, and a misleading light. I may have called him mad before, but an old man must admit when he is mistaken. 6 has never – never – been wrong."

9 gave a heavy sigh. "Again, point. So apparently there's something down there we'll have to watch out for. Did he say if we would be successful in finding 2's body, 1?" When the eldest shook his head, 9 grimaced. "Yeah... too much to hope for, I guess. Not that 6 has ever been the sort to give direct answers..."

7 folded her arms as she pursed her lips slightly, tipping her head toward the others. "Well, there's no use worrying on it, I think. That'll get us nowhere. Let's get some rest and just do this. We don't have anymore options, and time is running short."

It was one decision no one cared to disagree with.

*****

At dawn the next day, 9, 5, and 7 were up and on the move without disturbing any of the rest of their companions. A note was left, tucked carefully into one of 1's hands, but little else. They had a long way to go, a great many things to do, and so little time within which to accomplish any of it.

Most of the early preparation was already done, with their raft strapped onto the roller skate that had, until now, served as something of a transport stretcher, carrying the bodies of their comrades home, but today, it was serving a much greater purpose. They took turns, two pulling and one pushing, only stopping to rest when they absolutely had to... or when the rumble of a digger underfoot warned them of eminent danger.

It happened that 9 and 7 were pulling the skate when they finally approached the library, and 9 hid a frown as the slim white doll pressed closer almost entirely out of instinct. He didn't blame her, of course, but as much as he adored her, there was part of him that ached at the thought of hurting 5 with all of this. It was 7's decision in the end... but that didn't make this any easier.

"This place seems bigger than I remember," he heard 5 comment from behind them. The tension in his tone made 9 wince. Had he seen? "don't know why. I mean... it's not like anything's been added. Hope that fountain didn't feed out too far..." A pause. They were right up on the old fountain now. "I kinda feel like a grave robber."

7 couldn't hold back a soft chuckle. "It's only grave robbing if we're desecrating. This is to save a life, 5. Not to defile a final resting place."

5 gave a weary smile. "I guess so. Still, it feels odd." Giving a sigh, he slipped out from behind the skate, walking around to look down into the water. "Okay. So let's get the raft in here. The sooner we find 2, the sooner we can leave."

No time was wasted with agreement. 7 and 9 just moved to help untie and lift the raft, getting it into the water before they boarded and set off. Long dowel rods served to push them along, and keen lenses adjusted slowly as they drifted through the grate into the darkness beyond.

*****

Back in the First Room, the rays of early morning were just beginning to drift ni through the window slats, casting misty daylight across the three small bodies dozing quietly on a bit of soft cloth. 1 woke first, his lenses clicking and shifting to slowly adjust to the filtered light. A blurry world greeted him, and the first thing that came to his attention was a note tucked carefully into his hand. A quick skim showed him what he needed to know... the others had already left. Nodding, he turned his narrow focus to first one and then the other twin.

They were huddled close, small hnads gripping as they kept as near to noe another as physical space could allow. 3 was shivering, and distress read on her small features. 4, on the other hand, was just quietly holding to his sister, though the stress of the recent events were visible in his face. It genuinely bothered 1. Whether or not anyone had agreed to his methods, his ultimate goal had always been the protection of those in his care. Now this goal was even more important than ever. And 8...

A wave of sadness hit him. 8 had been the only one to ever fully believe in and follow him with no question or regret. In the end, he had failed to protect even him.

Any further distress on his part, however, was halted. The twins had roused during his reverie and were close up in front of him, their expressions full of worry. How had he missed their movement? Quick, quiet little things.

"You two seem rested," he commented absently, almost amused at the rapid nodding from both parties. "Well, good. We've much to do today. 6 was warning us. Perhaps we can find some clue in this dank tomb to provide us with the answer." resting his hands against his hips, he looked between the eager pair. "Are you up for some studying?"

They were scampering toward the big work desk before he had even gotten out the last word. Honestly, 1 felt somewhat refreshed seeing such liveliness. Here they stood with a genuine chance to restore themselves and beyond that, possibly even fulfill whatever end it was the Scientist had intended for them. He, the eldest, the most imperfect... he had no more knowledge than 9, who was created to be the pinnacle of their artificial evolution. From what he understood, even 9's understanding of the situation was painfully vague. "To protect the future" was something of an open-ended comment.

He settled to watch the twins climb, listening to their excited clicking as they began their search. Things were calm here... so how were things going with the others? His only hope was that it was going well.

*****

Perhaps all of them had underestimated the deep darkness of the tunnel below the fountain. The water was much deeper here, easily determined when they could not reach the bottom with their dowel rods, and in the pitch black, walls and turns became even worse obstacles than their lack of knowledge of the terrain. 5 was letting out the occasional soft, terrified whimper, and it broke 7's heart to hear it.

It wasn't like they could turn back now, though. They still hadn't found 2, and they had all agreed they would not turn back until they did. So they pressed on, worry and unease thick in all their minds.

5 was the one who first noticed the change. Below them, inexplicably, the water was starting to glow. "An old human device?" 7 questioned worriedly, hoping that her actual suspicions were not correct. "It's coming closer..."

The small group hunkered back. The room was growing steadily brighter, and at an alarming rate. 7's hadn tightened on her spear as 5 fumbled for his crossbow. Closer... closer...

All at once, something slammed ahrd into the side of the small raft, sending 5 and 7 sailing into the murky depths.

"5!" 9 cried. "7!" The room was still lit. "Answer me!" He leaned over into the water despite the frantic rocking of the raft. "Where are you?! Guys!"

Fear swelled in his chest, and he probably would have panicked had both of his comrades not burst sputtering from the water, scrambling to grasp the side of the rickety raft. 5's single optic was wide and panicked. "There's something in the water!"

"We need to get out of here, now!" 7 continued. "It's some kind of machine!"

9's instinct was to hurriedly grab and pull his friends into the boat as the strange, eerie light began to circle. They had to move, before the beast grabbed them and their journey was done for good. 7 pushed 9 to help 5 as she reached for her spear, and she no sooner had her hand on it than a startled shriek escaped her. Something was trying to pull her down.

"It has my leg!" 7 was grasping at whatever she could hold onto as both 5 and 9 tried their hardest to pull her free. At this range, the beast was plainly visible. It looked like some kind of enormous fish, mouth full of rows of razor sharp teeth. It seyes were glassy and glowed an awful red, though they were dim compared to the bright light hanging from a stiff wire on its forehead. "Guys, I can't hold on--!"

7's voice cut off when she finally lost her grip and the awful machine dragged her, spear and all, down into the depths.

*****

It had been hours since the others had left, and honestly, 1 was starting to worry. True, the channels beneath the library were vast, but surely if they hadn't found 2, they would have returned?

He himself was exhausted. Just watching the twins as they skittered here and there had worn him out. He could only imagine how they must've felt. They were particularly interested in one journal they had found, wide optics flickering rapidly as they absorbed, shared, and returned to the vast amounts of information they had found.

So many questions unanswered. He was curious himself as to how the second half of the talisman had drawn them back to their bodies... and why, exactly, they were deteriorating with so few here. He suspected his exhaustion, as well as that of the twins, was a result of that. The others must not be affected yet.

He gave a sigh as he sat down on an old shoe horn, leaning back tiredly. He hadn't noticed the twins scampering down, or how they watched him with wide, worried optics. He was dozing before they both sighed, gazing at one another.

A moment or two passed as they flashed messages back and forth, several lines of conversation passing in the time it would've taken for any of their companions to say one thing.

_1 is tired._

_So are we._

_We can cover him._

_Yes, and sleep too._

_Sleep sounds good._

_...I hope the others are okay, 4._

_Me too, 3._

Once the clicking had faded, 3 scurried to the side to collect a thick piece of fleece she had seen. Once she returned, she and her brother made quite a fuss of covering 1 and getting him comfortable before curling up on top of him and dozing off themselves.

*****

Darkness had descended on 5 and 9 after the awful monster had vanished into the depths. 9 was sweeping a dowel rod as far into the murk as he could, his expression distressed, as 5 did his best not to slip directly into a panic attack, moving back and forth, hands tightly gripping the edges of the raft. "7!" he called out, single lens wide with terror. "7!! Answer us!" How odd 9 felt it was, being down here, looking for 2, and listening to 5 cry out in tones reminiscent of that same poor doll's death. The motive this time was so much different, however, and the pain was even deeper. "7, are you there?!"

9 sat back quietly. Still no response from 7, and the light from the beast was gone. He did not want to admit it, but the possibility was very real that their stalwart companion was... gone. "I don't think she's coming back, 5..."

"No!" 5's voice was high and panicked. 9 could not recall a time he sounded so... alone. "She'll come back! 7's stronger than any of us!" He leaned over the side of the raft again, frantically searching the surface of the water. "Do you hear me, 7?! Did you hear that?! We need you! I need you! Please!"

When several more minutes passed with no response, 5 slumped back into the raft, face in his hands. 9 had no idea what to say. He had seen how devastated his friend had been over 2's death. This was much, much worse.

Rubbing his face quietly, he was about to suggest heading back when something from below caught his attention. It was the light again! Worried, he brandished his dowel rod, and he said nothing when 5 did not move. He couldn't really blame him, anyway. Closer, the light drew, though it was moving much more slowly than it had on its initial approach. "You've taken one of us, monster!" he hollered. "You won't take another!"

He was ready to swing the dowel rod as hard as he could when the light surfaced, but managed to stay his hand when he realized the fish was no longer attached to it. It was 7, coughing as she did her best to expel excess water from her inner workings, her canvas body soaked completely through. One hand held a tight grip on her spear, and the other had the light. She smiled weakly when 9, startled, helped her onto the boat. "I guess I should thank you for not braining me." Her expression softened when she saw 5 staring at her, and before she could say a word he had all but rushed forward, his arms tightly around her, forehead on her shoulder. "5..."

"We thought you were done for!" he cried, fingers clenching. "Oh, 7..."

Gently, 7 wormed one arm free, stroking 5's head until he finally released her. "Shhh. Easy, 5. I would never leave you alone like that." She was quiet as she handed 9 the light, smiling faintly. "Here. We'll need this."

Once the three were settled again, 9 did his best to ignore any annoying tinglings in the back of his mind. He would not be jealous. He had no right to be. Besides, there were more important things to worry about.

It wasn't too much further into the tunnel that a pile of scrap and debris caught their attention. There, untouched and held up amidst branches and cloth, was the scrap of wood they'd set 2 afloat on, and the old doll's lifeless form with a one cent piece still covering his optics. They had never been happier.

After loading his frame into the raft, the small entourage made their way back to the mouth of the tunnel and the library itself. It took much less time with the light to illuminate their path, and as soon as they were on dry land again, 5 headed off to find a dry piece of cloth to towel off 7 as 9 hooked 2 onto the talisman. "This is the least I could do after what I caused," he murmured, resting a hand on 2's arm. "It's time for you to wake up."

7 and 5 were watching quietly this time as the transfer began, with 7 quietly pulling 5 beneath the dry cloth with her, carefully scrubbing at his arms. His burlap dried faster, but he felt at ease, at least until 2 began to groan and shift. 5 was out from beneath the cloth in an instant, grinning happily as he reached to help him sit up. "2!"

"Ohhh... goodness! That was a bit of a ride, wasn't it?" 2 was smiling despite his startled tone, one hand pressed to his forehead. "Look at this here. I suppose 6 was right again. I never should have doubted that poor boy. Smashing. Simply smashing! I should have known you all would figure it out!" He laughed, reaching down to tug at the cloth surrounding his waist. "Here. Help me get this off. Maker knows I won't be able to walk with it..."

5 grinned brightly, reaching to his pack to pull out a small dagger to help in freeing his mentor. "Right on it."

Silence reigned for a while, more companionable than before, and as soon as they had 2 on his feet, they explained what they could. 2 frowned, nodding slowly as he rubbed his chin. "Hm. Yes, I see... makes sense. We'll talk on this more later, though. You said we need to rescue 6?"

"He's hanging in a ravine by his key," 9 admitted, expression sheepish. "We've been staying in the First Room, gathering everyone back together."

2 gave a sharp nod, reaching for a piece of bent metal to use like a cane. "Well, we'll waste no more time then. We've no time to waste, friends! Back to the First Room!"


	7. Chapter 7

The long walk back to the First Room was tiring. 2, despite his enthusiasm, grew tired more easily than his younger companions and they took breaks as often as they could for his sake. Whenever he was near 5, though, he was already planning, chatting, speculating, and brainstorming on what, exactly, they would need to safely retrieve 6's body from the ravine. It was as if nothing had happened, though 9 refused to meet his eyes. Whether it was shame or fear was unknown, but the tension was nearly palpable.

At least it was until, during one of their rest breaks, 9 was startled out of deep thought by 2's metal cane rapping with just enough force to sting against the top of his head. "Ow! What...?!"

"You've not spoken to me since we left the library," 2 pointed out casually, both expression and tone mild. "Mind telling me what's wrong?"

9 frowned, looking away almost immediately. He fidgeted, toying with his zipper, until 2 clearing his throat brought him back around. "I'm... I'm sorry, 2. If I had been more careful before, then everything that happened to you..."

2's brow arched as he listened, but to 9's surprise, when he trailed off, 2 gave a faint chuckle. "Tsk, is that all? My boy, things happen for a reason, and I can no more fault you for youthful naivete than one can blame the wind for snuffing out a candle. You were young then, as you still are... and you're much like me. Driven by a need to know, and a desire to learn more about the world around you." He laughed. "Why... were I still as young as you, I may have done the same thing. No, no, 9. I'm not angry with you. Not even the littlest bit. So don't go moping about. Things are looking up and we must stay positive!"

The old doll's easy smile was infectious. 9 couldn't help but smile back, however sheepishly, and even 5 had to laugh a bit at his expression. The youngest finally sighed, his smile coming easier. "Thank you, 2."

"No need to thank me, either," 2 laughed, dismissing the notion with a casual wave of his hand. "Our concern right now is building something we can use to get 6 out of that ravine, am I right?" When the others nodded, 2 hopped down from his perch, patting 7's hand when she steadied him. "Then we should move right along. No more breaks! So much to do, and so many plans..."

As he started forward, the others hurried to keep up. "Are you sure, 2?" 5 inquired, tone worried. "I mean... we do have a light now. If it starts getting dark, we'll still be able to move."

"Pah!" 2 huffed, good-natured as ever. "We can't keep stopping; we'll never get back! Besides... a bit of exertion is good for the soul!"

Winking, 2 continued to press on with the others following, and 7 shook her head, smiling. "You know? 2 doesn't change. I'm fairly sure at this point that he'll stay this way forever."

5 grinned at her, scrambling down a bit of rubble 2 had just slid down. "It's 2," he commented, reaching up to help 7 and 9 ease the skate down. "You can't honestly tell me you're even remotely surprised by this."

Shaking her head, 7 laughed. "You've got me there. He always was the one who went out and did, even when the rest of us worried and fussed."

"Has he really always been like that?" 9 asked, hopping down the hill of debris once the skate was safely down. "He must've worried you all to death!"

5 laughed. "Aside from driving 1 up a wall, yeah..."

He trailed off when 2 called back, "C'mon, you lot! Keep up!"

That brought a brilliant smile to 5's face as he reached up to help 7 over the debris. "And we wouldn't have it any other way."

*****

And what a sight awaited them on their arrival in the First Room. 1 was still in his rest cycle with both twins snuggled up tightly together, curled up on top of their eldest comrade. 2 had a hand over his mouth, stifling a laugh. "Oh, that old badger," he chuckled warmly, keeping his voice as quiet as he could. "For all of his bluster, he really did genuinely worry about everyone..."

"2..." 7 was looking toward her old friend, expression tight. "1 sent you out to die. How is that concern?"

2's smile was disarmingly warm, and he reached out to lay a gentle hand on her arm, squeezing softly. "I questioned. I made everyone think, and thinking and knowing prompt unrest and dissent. He felt to keep us safe, he needed to keep us hidden. I felt we would never be safe unless we knew the truth. When I encouraged you and the twins to follow your gut, you all left. Your safety was immediately threatened, and as far as 1 knew, I was to blame. To some extent... he was right. I knew his motives when I left... and I found 9. Things happen for a reason, my young friends. Some things... are just meant to happen." 7 frowned, lowering her head slightly, raising her optics only when 2 gave her shoulder a gentle shake. "We can't live in the past if we mean to survive the future."

It seemed their conversation had finally reached the auditory sensors of at least two of the room's dozing occupants. The twins were peering at them, and the unadulterated joy in their faces was plain when they realized who it was. Both of them rushed to their feet, somehow managing not to disturb 1's slumber as they converged on 2, clicking their lenses happily as they hugged him.

"There now, you two. Easy, easy! Hah! I'm glad to see you, too. Oh, when 9 told me that you two had been sick, it positively broke my heart." Smiling, 2 gently rubbed the twins' hoods, looking right at home. "Come on, then. Let's wake my brother."

While the twins looked wary, 2 did not. He simply marched right over and jabbed at 1's leg with his cane. When that didn't help, he nudged a bit harder. After a few more pokes, the eldest doll lifted his head... and promptly fell off the shoe horn at the sight of 2 smiling down at him. "2!"

2 just laughed, leaning on his cane as he offered a hand. "Present and accounted for. You're looking well."

1 made a face, allowing 2 to brace him as he stood. "One might say the same of you, for the first of us to have died."

Grinning, 2 shrugged absently. If 1's comment had been a shot at him, it didn't seem to bother him in the least. "I've got the devil's luck, or so you always used to tell me." He looked around for a moment or two. "Feels odd, being back in this room. After all that happened... it feels like I'm desecrating holy ground."

"We can find somewhere for a permanent home once we've revived 6 and 8," 9 pointed out. "For now, we have work to do. What first?"

That brought a thoughtful look to 2's face. "Mm. It's late, so there's no point in heading out to the ravine right now. We would never be able to find 6's body in the dark. 9... you said you found some diagrams?" When 9 nodded, 2's expression became resolute. "Then our first order of business shall be rebuilding 8. 5, let's get that diagram and get to finding the materials. 8's a large fellow! We've a lot of work to do."

*****

As the night wore on, 9 found it next to impossible to rest. 5 and 2 were working in relative silence, but it was not any noise from their part of the room keeping him awake. Innumerable thoughts ran through his head in a jumbled mess, and most of those thoughts concerned 7. Odd, he thought, that he should have her so firmly in mind with so much else at stake, but really, wasn't the cohesion of the group just as important as anything else?

His thoughts distracted him from taking note of someone approaching from behind, and it wasn't until he felt the soft canvas of 7's slight frame brush against him that he looked up. "Oh... 7. I didn't even hear you come up."

"I've spent a long time learning to be silent," 7 replied, smiling slightly, "though something tells me that's not how I managed to sneak up on you. What's on your mind?"

9's brow furrowed slightly and he sighed. "You. Me. Us. 5. Everything. It's all a little overwhelming. What happens when we have everyone back?" He turned his head to look his companion in the optics. "And... I hate to seem so... blunt, but... what happens with us? Not just you and me. You and 5."

A long pause set in once 9 finished talking, and both he and 7 shifted in the uncomfortable silence. It was 7 who broke the stalemate first, leaning over to pull 9 into a quiet embrace. He tensed at first, but settled quickly as she started to speak. "I care about you a lot, 9; you know that. You did so much for us... and after everyone was killed, you helped so much when I was trying to deal with so much grief alone. You're a dear friend, and that... I wouldn't trade that for the world." Her fingers tightened and 9 immediately knew what was coming. "I just... I don't want you to get angry... at me, or at 5. He's..."

She trailed off when 9 sat back, lifting his hand to cover one of hers. "7... don't. I'm not angry. How could I be? I knew there was something between you and 5." He smiled. "A blind man could've seen it... hopeful as I know I was. I'm happy... for both of you. Maybe if things had been different. But I'll always support you, no matter what."

The silence that fell after that was much more companionable than before. When 7 finally sat straight, their sighs were in unison, and it caused a laugh to ripple between them.

"Well. That was less awkward than I thought it would be." 9 gave a smile, feeling a little better when 7 laughed at him. "You gonna talk to 5?"

7 nodded faintly. "Once things have settled down. You know how 5 is. If he has too much on his plate at one time, he can't focus, and if he and 2 plan to get anything done, he'll have to pay as close attention to detail as possible."

After a moment of thought, 9 gave a nod of agreement. "True. I'll keep my mouth shut, then. And 7?" Grinning slightly, he drew her into another hug. "Good luck. To both of you."

From where he had settled for a breather just far enough away to see but not hear, 5 had seen more than he needed. Quiet and resigned, he slipped back to where he was working with 2.

*****

If 5 was distracted the next morning as everyone gathered near where he and 2 were putting the finishing touches on 8's rebuilt body, it was chalked up to worry over how they would retrieve 6 from the ravine. When he wouldn't look at 9 or 7 as the prior hooked up the two halves of the talisman, it was written off as the shame he still felt from his own death. Fortunately, 8's body jerking as life returned to it was enough to draw attention away from him for the inevitable confusion the large doll would no doubt feel.

As expected, 8's expression when he sat up slowly was almost lost, one hand resting on his forehead as he glanced around at the expectant faces watching him. It wasn't until 1 gave him an encouraging nod that he stood, testing his joints. Never one to be long on words, 8 gave a faint grunt of approval and a loose, half-smile. He reached over, patting 2's shoulder in a thank you gesture almost firm enough to knock the old doll clean off his feet.

Which, oddly, caused a strange, dawning look to cross 2's face. "That's it! My friends, I've just had an epiphany!" he crowed, and when everyone gave him an odd look, he only laughed, smiling broadly. "Thinking of winches and pulleys... why go through the hassle? 5! Come on, my boy! We've a harness to stitch!"

*****

Considering the circumstances, it was no big surprise that 8 agreed to assist in the retrieval of 6's body. It was 9 who agreed to strap on the harness, however, and be lowered down the cliffside by 8, who would be wearing the second of the three harnesses, his with a small winch. Even 1 had praised the idea as clever. Less work and an agreeable end.

None of them felt at ease, of course, so close to the beast that had caused all the trouble to begin with. 2 had given a full body shudder and 8 even growled in its direction, but 5 and 7 urged them to act more quickly. A horrible chill ran up 9's spine despite his focus. Why did he feel like someone was watching them?

He did his best to put the thought out of his mind as 8 started to lower him into the ravine. If he'd had a stomach, he was positive it would have turned. He could not see the bottom of the awful chasm, and reminded himself how lucky they were that 6's key had caught on that tree branch, precarious as the position was. He tried to keep it in mind that this was necessary. They all needed to be together. Even one of them missing was certain death.

As soon as eh was close enough to 6's body to ever-carefully work him free, 9 tugged the secondary line twice to let 8 know to stop lowering him. The jerk as the line came to a halt actually made him feel dizzy, but he closed his lenses and did his best to focus. A moment or two later and he was gazing at 6 again. It was sad, seeing him like this. 9 had not known him long, but he remembered how active and lively the strange, troubled doll had been. Seeing him here, hanging limp by the key he wore around his neck, his pen nib fingers still and quiet... it was like staring at some sort of horrible nightmare. He tried to swallow back his worry... his dismay. This would never have happened if he had just listened.

He was surprising at how light 6 actually was as he worked to slip him into the extra harness, tightening straps and latching buckles. That was the easiest part of getting him free. He wanted to be done as quickly as possible. Dangling here over certain death was not among the highest points of his day.

The harder part was getting the key free. The branches had tangled and ensnared it, which was – of course – how 6 had been caught safely. He bit his lip as he broke more twigs free. What if the harness didn't hold? When the branch holding 6's key in place finally broke loose, he gave a grunt as 6's body dropped, and his relief was palpable when the harness held, catching the artist against his side. All that remained was two tugs on the secondary line and the slow ride back to the ledge.

*****

Back in the First Room, safe from marauding machines, 6 was hooked up to the talisman. He took a few minutes to fully wake, mismatched lenses blinking out of time before he finally focused. "There you are, 6," 2 murmured as he removed the wire from 6's back, latching back the seam and lightly ruffling the tattered yarn that topped the striped head. "Good as new."

"Good..." 6 wiggled his own fingers, staring at them in silent wonder before his head jerked up and he looked around rapidly, frantically searching until he spotted the doll he wanted to see. "9!" He scrambled to his feet, rushing over to grab the other doll's shoulders, giving him a shake as his smile broadened. "9! You listened! You understood!" He threw his arms around the youngest then, a happy, disjointed laugh bubbling up from him. "I knew! Knew you would! I saw it! Told the others you would understand! And you did, you did, you did!" His grip tightened slightly. "All that's left now is what's coming! And I know you'll know and find the truth again!"

9 laughed when 6 did, managing to worm his arms free after a moment of struggle to put his hands on the prophet's shoulders. "No. No, I didn't do it, 6. You did. I never would have known if it hadn't been for you." He smiled as 6 stepped back, quietly wringing his hands together though the smile remained. "Now... now we really can move forward. All of us. Together."


	8. Epilogue

The next few weeks were busy. It was agreed that the First Room, while important, was not a suitable place to live. So, after 9 and 5 did some scouting, the group relocated to a clock tower, abandoned and miraculously in very good shape. Long hours were spent carving and walling off rooms, workshops, storage and more. 2 focused a great deal of energy on wiring up electricity and collecting medical supplies should they be needed. 7 took the time to scout safe routes between the tower and both the First Room and the Library. Who knew, after all, when some information or supply would be needed from one or the other.

Once the watchtower was completed, 5 took to spending a great deal of time up there, and it was there 7 found him as the sun began its lazy crawl down the sky toward the horizon. "Hey," she murmured, drawing his attention toward her. "Mind if I join you?"

It was a conversation 5 had been trying to avoid. He had wanted to talk to her... to tell her he was happy for her and 9. He just hadn't been able to find the words. Now... now he had no choice. "Uh... sure. Sure, 7, that's... that's fine." Smiling, he scooted to the side, giving her room to sit before he settled beside her, close enough that their shoulders touched. "Something on your mind?"

"I've been meaning to talk to you," 7 murmured gently. "It just got so busy, what with getting settled here in the clock tower and all the scouting and building..." She gave him a long look. "5? You look like you're about ready to burst."

5 tensed, then drew himself up with a deep, nervous sigh. "7, I..." He steeled himself. "7, I saw you and 9, that night we were working on rebuilding 8." Her expression shifted to surprise, and he quickly put his hands up. "I... I'm not upset. Really! I understand. I was dead, and besides, 9 is good for you. He's brave and clever and... well, he's honestly everything I'm not." He did not catch the odd smile that drifted onto her face, words flowing from him as if a flood-wall had come crumbling down. "I just want you to know that I'm happy for you and I support you both and I am not at all jeal-MMPH."

He remembered seeing it in a book once; humans would touch their mouths together to show affection. They called it "kissing." It was a nice sensation, but he certainly had not counted on the burst of joy it sent through him, clear through his soul. He was dumbstruck when 7 sat back from him and smiled. "3 and 4 suggested that from a book." When 5 gave a sheepish smile, she sighed and smiled right back. "5... what you saw... I was telling 9 that he's a dear friend. I care about him, yes, but it's nothing like how I care about you. So... stop worrying, okay? I'm not going anywhere. I choose you."

Happiness swelled up in 5's chest and he couldn't resist pulling 7 into a tight embrace, overjoyed when she reciprocated. Maybe things really were looking up.

*****

It was a few days later that 1 informed the others 6 had become very troubled, muttering and pacing in his alcove all night the previous evening. Lately he had drawn anything his heart desired, but no one could mistake the sudden onset of more visions, which were immediately a cause for concern.

Days passed, and 6 drew. The visions were strange and disjointed. He drew horrific mechanical beasts, roaming among trees newly taking root, lifting the body of the Machine, prowling in darkness and light. Faces, familiar and unknown, and numbers written on and on and on. It seemed as though he couldn't stop drawing, even when exhaustion made him whimper and slump.

Any attempt to pull him away or get him to rest was met with panic and frantic cries that "more would come" and "more would die." For days, 6 went on like this, until one day almost a week later when they found him laying quietly on the floor, paper scattered all around him and floor a mess of ink. He was deeply in his rest cycle and didn't so much as flinch when 9 gently moved him to his bed.

"What on Earth could all of this mean?" 2 was murmuring from nearby, carefully collecting loose drawings from the floor as 9 approached him. "Is he resting now?"

9 nodded slowly. "He is. I don't think I've ever seen anyone sleep so deeply. What was he drawing...?"

Frowning, 2 gave his head a shake. "Faces. Machines. Flowers, trees... he even wrote numbers, all kinds, on and on nigh endlessly. It isn't like he can really tell us, either. He's plagued by the future, but so childlike that he can't decipher what he sees." A sigh escaped him and he shook his head. "Even if he could... the very nature of what he is may prevent him from giving us a straight answer."

Slowly, 9 looked around. There was no denying that something big was coming. Not with as much as the disturbed prophet had drawn. "I believe you. I just wish this didn't send such a chill down my back. We'll just have to be ready, for whatever lies ahead."

*****

A few days later, when 6 awoke, it was as if the odd cascade of visions had never struck him. He returned to drawing peacefully, smiling brightly at anyone who came to visit him. At least... until 5 appeared.

The artist stared at him quietly, and then muttered something lowly to himself, pulling out a fresh sheet of paper as he began to draw. 5 winced inwardly. Considering the horrific nature of 6's last vision, being the instigator of another was cause for concern."

It was the expression 6 wore when he rushed over to 6 with the finished drawing, holding it out with a brilliant, almost innocent smile, that threw him off-guard. "For you, 5!" he insisted, trying to push the paper into his hands. "For you!"

5 blinked, finally accepting the paper, turning it to view the drawing under 6's expectant gaze. The ink portrayed two figures facing each other, arms outstretched. The one to the left appeared to be wearing something... a bird skull? 7? His lens drifted to the figure on the right. One eye, and the other scribbled out to indicate it was not there. It was him. 6 drew him and 7? He gave the artist a puzzled look, but 6 just nodded toward the paper again. Obediently, 5 looked back.

How he had missed the third scratchy figure was simple. It was small, curled between he and 7's outstretched arms as if they were reaching to hold it. Bewildered, he looked back to 6. "6... what...?"

But 6 only smiled. "For you, 5," he repeated. "For the future."

With those words, he wandered off to some other project, leaving 5 to stand confused, looking back to the unusual drawing. What vision had 6 seen to prompt such an odd drawing?

For the future...?

What had he meant by that?


End file.
